Tuesday, May 13, 2008

The Weekend

Usually our weekends are full of errands, painting, cleaning, etc. They're not usually just fun because with Ashlyn in school all week, it's when we get stuff done that we need her for (like shopping for summer clothes!) Well, this weekend was just plain fun. Our friend Stuart came to visit for a few days. He and Britney started out the weekend fishing Thursday and Friday with Britney's cousins up in Alexandria, MN. They had some success and came home with a couple of bags of fish.

Saturday was a rainy, cold, yucky day. But, we took Stuart out to the farms anyway. Let me tell you, there's nothing like the wind changing on a hog farm and blowing a big gust of stinky air right in the car! I thought we were all going to throw up!

Jerry's farm was pretty quiet because with the rain, he couldn't be in the field. So they were up in Alexandria too, fishing...We showed Stuart all the fun tractors, combines, etc., and got some great pictures of the kids. Carter even decided he could sit in a tractor this time! He's always LOVED to look at them but has been afraid to sit in them. Since he knew we were not going to turn them on, he climbed in and had a good time "driving." Maybe he'll actually ride in one this year!

My Mother's Day dinner was Saturday night and we drove down to Okoboji, Iowa to eat supper at a hole in the wall Mexican place. But it's SOOOO good! It's my favorite place to go in the summer because it's right by the lake. Afterwards, we drove over to Arnold's Park, a small amusement park right on the lake with one of the best ice cream shops around. We didn't think anything would be open yet (it usually opens on Memorial Day), but we were ecstatic when we saw that the Nutty Bar Stand was open already. Everyone enjoyed ice creams, even though we were already cold from the rain.

Sunday after church and lunch, we drove up to Buffalo Ridge, which is just a little ways north of us. It's a heaven for windmills and we probably saw well over 300 of them. If you've never been to Minnesota and experienced this phenomenon, you probably won't grasp the hugeness of these things. We told Ashlyn to count how many windmills we saw, so she got out her notepad and made tallies for every one she could. She had over 144 tallies by the end of the day, so we figured it was probably safe to at least double that :)

I also found a great little town for shopping with lots of thrift stores and antiques shops. I can't wait to go back!

All in all, it was a great weekend for everyone and the best Mother's Day I could've asked for!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm so glad you shared your weekend with us....I was just about to write and ask....then I thought I should check your blog so you wouldn't have to write it all twice:) Anyway, I'm glad you guys had a good time with Stuart. I so wished I could have been there also. Sounds like the weather didn't stop you too much even eating ice cream:) Well, I have to go back and look at that pictures now....don't believe Carter got on the tractors....that's GREAT!
Miss you.
Alea

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad, too! I LOVED all the pictures and have already looked at them several times. Brave Carter on the tractors and helpful Ashlyn with the tally sheet--so cute. Even I am still amazed at the size of both tractors and windmills and I see them all the time! I haven't been to the place in Pipestone--how interesting. And is Pipestone the little town you found with the shops? Haven't been there in years. U. Rich and A. Norma lived there when I was growing up so I used to know the town well. Thanks again for sharing. I am so glad you had such a fun weekend.
Love,
Mom